Americans United - Rep. Michele Bachmannhttp://www.au.org/tags/rep-michele-bachmann
enBad Breakfast: Do Congressional Chaplains Plan To Spend Inauguration Morning With Religious And Political Extremists?http://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/bad-breakfast-do-congressional-chaplains-plan-to-spend-inauguration-morning
<a href="/about/people/rob-boston">Rob Boston</a><div class="field field-name-field-blog-type field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blogs/wall-of-separation">Wall of Separation</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-callout field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">The congressional chaplains should make it clear that they won&#039;t be having breakfast with Islamophobes and Obama haters. </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="prose"><p>Washington is abuzz with preparations for Monday’s inauguration. A number of events, private and public, are taking place.</p><p>Among them is something called the Presidential Inaugural Prayer Breakfast (PIPB), which takes place Monday morning at the Washington Marriott Wardman Park Hotel.</p><p>Despite its name, this is not an official inaugural event. It’s sponsored by a variety of fundamentalist Christian groups and “messianic” Jews. Featured guests include TV preacher Pat Robertson, U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) and Joseph Farah, founder of the website WorldNetDaily.</p><p>Normally, I would think this is no big deal. Some fundamentalists have rented space in a hotel to pray on the morning of the inauguration. It’s a free country; let them have at it.</p><p>But for one thing: A <a href="http://www.pipb2013.com/special-guests-speakers.html">website promoting the event lists</a> both congressional chaplains as special guests who will participate in a “Prayer for the Nation.” Barry C. Black, Senate chaplain, and the Rev. Patrick J. Conroy, House of Representatives chaplain, are both listed.</p><p>But do they plan to attend? It’s hard to tell exactly what’s going on. A staffer in Black’s office told <em>Mother Jones</em> that he will <a href="http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2013/01/are-congressional-chaplains-attending-anti-obama-prayer-breakfast">not be there</a> – but event organizers insist that Black has agreed to come.</p><p>The situation with Conroy is also murky. <em>Mother Jones</em> was unable to reach him, but it’s worth noting that Conroy is <a href="http://pipb2013.com.tripod.com/webonmediacontents/InaugeralPrayerBreakfast%20invite%20final.pdf">listed twice</a> on the PIPB website as a <a href="http://www.pipb2013.com/press-release-and-requests.html">member</a> of the Presidential Inaugural Prayer Breakfast Committee, which would indicate an ongoing relationship with the group.</p><p>Black and Conroy should make it clear that they won’t attend this event and cut any ties they may have to this organization. They should do it today in unambiguous language.</p><p>Although the Presidential Inaugural Prayer Breakfast is described as a non-partisan and interfaith event, one need only look at the list of special guests to expose its true nature. This is a collection of people drawn from the extreme right of American politics. They’re a band of Muslim-bashers who hate President Barack Obama and have spent the past four years spreading lies about him.</p><p>Consider Farah, the founder of WorldNetDaily (WND). This site is, to be blunt, a clearinghouse for daft right-wing conspiracy theorists and Obama haters. Even at this late date, WND continues to promote pathetic “birther” tales about Obama as well as claims that he’s not a Christian. (The site currently <a href="http://superstore.wnd.com/whistleblower">advertises a magazine</a> bearing a photo of Obama headlined, “The First Muslim President.”) No lie about the president is too outrageous for this crowd. There’s a reason people call this site “WorldNutDaily.”</p><p>Robertson’s record of extremism is well known. He has asserted that Obama is <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/14/pat-robertson-obama_n_2301228.html">really a socialist</a> bent on destroying the free enterprise system. Every few days, Robertson says something offensive on his “700 Club.” A few days ago, he advised a teenager who wrote in with concerns about his parents’ marriage that such difficulties are often caused by <a href="http://www.alternet.org/tea-party-and-right/pat-robertson-outrage-hard-nosed-awful-looking-women-are-ruining-marriages">“hard-nosed” women</a> who are “awful looking.”</p><p>During her tenure in Congress, Bachmann has raised Islamophobia to an art form. In July, Bachmann was among a five-member congressional cuckoo caucus <a href="https://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/berating-bigotry-religious-and-policy-groups-respond-to-bachmann-s-anti">that attacked</a> Huma Abedin, a top deputy of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, accusing her of being part of a fantastic Muslim conspiracy to take over the nation. Their evidence for this was – well, they didn’t have any.</p><p>If Black and Conroy have in fact not agreed to spend the morning of the inauguration with a boisterous band of bigoted Obama bashers, they should make that clear. (Black especially ought to know better; he has been <a href="https://www.au.org/church-state/march-2007-church-state/people-events/senate-chaplain-drops-speech-at-religious-right">busted </a>for this sort of thing before.)</p><p>The presence of the House and Senate chaplains at this event would be an insult to the president and to the members of Congress that these two pledged to serve in a non-partisan manner. It would show disrespect for the fundamental American value of tolerance.</p><p>I urge Black and Conroy to do the right thing and make it clear to the extremists of the Religious Right that they’ll be elsewhere on Monday morning.</p><p>P.S. Of course, embarrassing incidents like this could be avoided if we didn’t have taxpayer-funded chaplains in Congress. It’s time to pull the plug on all forms of government-supported religion.</p><p><em>N</em>ote: <em>Americans United will be closed on Monday for the Inuaguration and the observance of Martin Luther King's birthday. "The Wall of Separation" will be on hiatus.</em></p><p> </p></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Issues:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/descriptions-and-activities-religious-right-groups">Descriptions and Activities of Religious Right Groups</a></span></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/joseph-farah">Joseph Farah</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/worldnetdaily">WorldNetDaily</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/pat-robertson">Pat Robertson</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/rep-michele-bachmann">Rep. Michele Bachmann</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/barack-obama">Barack Obama</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/barry-black">Barry Black</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/patrick-conroy">Patrick Conroy</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/chaplains">chaplains</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/congress">Congress</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/inauguration">inauguration</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/presidential-inaugural-prayer-breakfast">Presidential Inaugural Prayer Breakfast</a></span></div></div>Fri, 18 Jan 2013 15:43:38 +0000Rob Boston7932 at http://www.au.orghttp://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/bad-breakfast-do-congressional-chaplains-plan-to-spend-inauguration-morning#commentsOutmaneuvering Bachmann: Minn. Rep’s Military Strike Thwarted By AU Reconnaissancehttp://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/outmaneuvering-bachmann-minn-rep%E2%80%99s-military-strike-thwarted-by-au
<a href="/about/people/joseph-l-conn">Joseph L. Conn</a><div class="field field-name-field-blog-type field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blogs/wall-of-separation">Wall of Separation</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-callout field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Fortunately, Bachmann’s maneuver was thwarted by Americans United reconnaissance. </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="prose"><p>U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann’s attempt to inject sectarian bias into the U.S. military has been shot down, at least for now.</p>
<p>Bachmann, a Minnesota Republican and Religious Right <a href="http://blog.au.org/2010/03/10/bachmann-in-overdrive-minnesota-house-member-favors-church-electioneering/">favorite,</a> wanted to add language to the 2011 National Defense Authorization Act giving military chaplains the right to push their personal beliefs at events where personnel from many faiths (and none) are present. The <a href="http://www.rules.house.gov/111/AmndmentsSubmitted/hr5136a/bachman_56_hr5136.pdf">amendment</a> to H.R. 5136 would have allowed chaplains to conclude prayers at non-religious events “according to the dictates of the Chaplain’s conscience.”</p>
<p>Bachmann’s proposal may not sound all that nefarious, but it is. Military chaplains, of course, are already allowed to offer sectarian prayers at sectarian worship services. A Christian chaplain presiding at a Christian gathering is likely to close a prayer “in Jesus’ name.” A Muslim chaplain at a Muslim service is going to offer prayers that reflect the teachings of Islam.</p>
<p>But chaplains are employees of the government, and they serve a diverse constituency, not just members of their own tradition. They are sometimes asked to offer invocations at military events where personnel from many faiths are present. At those, nonsectarian prayers may be requested.</p>
<p>Religious Right forces are up in arms about this attempt at inclusivity, insisting that fundamentalist chaplains should have the right to slip a little not-so-subtle proselytizing into their invocations and benedictions. It’s one part of a deeply disturbing <a href="http://blog.au.org/2005/07/13/evangelicals_on/">crusade</a> to target service personnel for fundamentalist proselytizing and cast a conservative Christian mantle over our armed forces.</p>
<p>Fortunately, Bachmann’s maneuver was thwarted by Americans United reconnaissance.</p>
<p>AU Legislative Director Aaron Schuham learned of the scheme on Wednesday while scanning the defense bill’s hundreds of amendments to check for potential church-state problems. He and AU’s legislative team quickly swung into action, notifying our allies and organizing a lobbying effort aimed at U.S. House leaders.</p>
<p>The effort paid off. The House floor schedule announced today does not include the proposed Bachmann amendment. Apparently it has been ruled out of order.</p>
<p>Bachmann should be ruled “out of order” often.</p>
<p>Stay tuned! Friends of individual freedom won this skirmish, but you never know when or where the next battle will be.</p>
</div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Issues:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/churches-and-politics">Churches and Politics</a></span></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/military-chaplains">military chaplains</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/rep-michele-bachmann">Rep. Michele Bachmann</a></span></div></div>Thu, 27 May 2010 15:36:39 +0000Joseph L. Conn1606 at http://www.au.orghttp://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/outmaneuvering-bachmann-minn-rep%E2%80%99s-military-strike-thwarted-by-au#comments